Aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase inducibility in lung cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) inducibility was studied in cultured lymphocytes from 21 healthy control subjects and from 15 lung cancer patients selected for radiation therapy. AHH inducibility of the patients was measured prior to, during and at the end of radiation therapy. Four of 15 patients had values comparable to the healthy controls. Cellular DNA and protein measurements of cultured lymphocytes were the same for patients and healthy controls. There was no significant difference in the percentage of lymphoblast formation and percentage of cell survival between the two groups. Radiation therapy reduces the number of lymphocytes in vivo and the amount of lymphoblast formation in vitro. AHH inducibulity is signifcantly lowered by radiation in the patients who had very high inducibility at pre-treatment level. DNA and protein contents of cultured lymphocytes did not change during radiation therapy.